The University of Georgia’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has announced the newest group of faculty members selected for its three fellowship programs: Lilly Teaching Fellows, Senior Teaching Fellows, and Fellows for Transformative Teaching.
These programs bring together faculty from different disciplines and career stages to reflect on their teaching methods, try new ideas, and develop engaging learning experiences. “Each of these fellowship programs creates a space for faculty to learn from one another, explore new approaches to teaching, and deepen their impact on students,” said Meg Mittelstadt, co-director of faculty fellowships and director of the CTL. “It’s inspiring to see the creativity and commitment our Fellows bring to their classrooms and to the UGA community.”
The Lilly Teaching Fellowship is designed for early-career faculty. It is a two-year program supporting assistant professors in their first three years at UGA. The 2025–2027 class includes Doris Acheme (Communication Studies), Bree Bang-Jensen (International Affairs, Health Policy and Management), Elizabeth Saari Browne (Art History, Women’s and Gender Studies), Braiden Coleman (Accounting), Sha-Mira Covington (Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors), Angie Im (Agricultural and Applied Economics), Brita Lorentzen (Anthropology), Joseph Wei (English), Brandon Yik (Chemistry), and Nicholas Young (Physics). This fall, fellows attended a retreat at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia with discussions about generative AI, student engagement, and guidance from alumni. Throughout the year, monthly meetings will address topics like career transitions in academia. In their second year, participants complete a scholarly teaching project. The program is co-directed by Mittelstadt; Sarah Shannon serves as co-director; Tim Samples is assistant director.
Senior Teaching Fellows are experienced educators who are associate or full professors with at least five years at UGA. The 2025–2026 cohort includes Neil Bendle (Marketing), Suzie Birch (Anthropology and Geography), Ginny Boss (Counseling and Human Development Services), Gaelen Burke (Entomology), Darren Hayunga (Real Estate), Steve Kogan (Human Development and Family Science), Vera Lee-Schoenfeld (Linguistics), Jill Stefaniak (Workforce Education and Instructional Technology), and Eric Zeemering (Public Administration and Policy). Their fall retreat included teaching demonstrations followed by discussions on student engagement strategies. Monthly meetings will cover motivation techniques, grading strategies, educational technology integration, and balancing current challenges with liberal arts values. Mittelstadt co-directs this program with Gayle Andrews.
Fellows for Transformative Teaching recognizes senior non-tenure-track faculty who have advanced in rank after at least four years at UGA. The 2025–2026 fellows are Tyra Byers (Sustainability); Jason O’Donnell (Division of Biological Sciences); Jennifer Osbon (Marketing); Chitra Pidaparti (Educational Psychology); Sayamon Singto (Office for Student Success & Achievement); Nada Tamim (Poultry Science); Olga Thomason (Germanic and Slavic Studies); Lou Tolosa-Casadont (Language and Literary Education); Nandana Weliweriya (Physics and Astronomy); Mark Werner (Statistics). Their retreat included hands-on sessions with AI tools as well as professional development workshops. Each fellow leads an individual instructional improvement project within their department during the year. Ruth Poproski facilitates this program.
According to CTL leaders, these three groups demonstrate innovation in teaching practices across campus departments while also mentoring others within the university community.
